Clover schools, police investigate ‘threatening’ social media post

Clover school district officials Wednesday evening received a report of what they describe as a “threatening” post on social media.

According to the district, the York County Sheriff’s Department was notified and a multi-jurisdictional team of law enforcement officers went to the residence where the post was made. School officials said they were notified of the threat around 11 p.m.

“Law enforcement fully investigated and, following its investigation, notified school district officials that there is no threat to any CSD school,” reads a statement from district. “Social media has a wide reach. Therefore, when the district is alerted of any potential threats, we take action because the safety of our students is our top priority. As we’ve said before, a strength of our school district is our community, and this community can work together to keep all children safe.”

This is one of several incidents of threats in York County and Chester County schools in recent weeks.

A 13-year-old student at Lewisville Middle School in Chester County was charged in late October with making threats at school. The charge came after a drawing that showed a gun was found by a teacher, police said. School officials did not immediately report the incident to police. Prosecutors in Chester County have asked state law enforcement officials to investigate the school’s delay in reporting the threat.

Police were investigating allegations Tuesday that a student at York Preparatory Academy in Rock Hill sent threats on social media to “kill” 10 other students, police said. No charges were filed in that case. Police said late Wednesday the threats had been sent by a 10-year-old girl who was “just mad at another girl.”

Olympic High School in the Steele Creek area of Mecklenburg County was put on lockdown Tuesday morning after someone pulled a fire alarm before school started. Students reported seeing social media posts that appeared to show a person with a handgun on campus, according to The Charlotte Observer. Police are questioning a juvenile and looking for a second person believed to have been involved in the incident.

Education leaders are taking measures to address mental health and threats of violence in schools.

The S.C. Department of Education is forming a committee to set statewide guidelines and training for school districts to form threat assessment teams, said Melissa Reeves, a nationally certified school psychologist and psychology professor at Winthrop University who helps train educators. The guidelines will be released early next year.

The teams include school administration and mental health professionals who are trained to recognize warning signs and determine how likely children are to harm themselves or others, Reeves said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2018 at 12:59 PM.